Into the Void With Sam & Sarah
by Dr. Faust
Summary: Two siblings find themselves hurled from their home plane into the wilds of Zendikar...Things get pretty crazy from there on in. Leaping leonins, sinister plots, and more Magic fun than you can shake a stick at, it sure isn't like the games back home!
1. Chapter 1 : Into the Wilds

Chapter One : "Into the Wilds"  
by Dr. Faust

The sun finally broke through the clouds marking the end of a rather long rainy week. Sarah found herself staring up at them as if they held all the answers to the universe. She hoped that something out there did. It was her last semester of high school and she was having serious senioritis. Just thinking about the future was going to give herself an anxiety attack.

She decided to sit down on a park bench that was on her usual route home from school. It was warming up but the air still smelled damp and had a slight chill to it. Fall was nearly in full swing but there was still a few days of summer weather left. Sarah wondered if she could get enough people together to make a day trip to a nearby lake. It was one of her favorite places to go, but she disliked going to such places alone.

She thought she felt someone standing behind her and when she looked there wasn't a soul around. Feeling the chill more than she had before she rose to continue her trek home. She didn't have more than a few blocks to go and she'd feel better once she was safely indoors. She was still alone but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. It was damn creepy.

She slammed the door behind and let out a sigh of relief. She didn't see anyone following her but it wasn't until she was inside that the feeling of being watched left her. She shook her head, maybe she was just being stupidly paranoid. She dropped her bag by the door and went to the kitchen to fix herself a sandwich. When she came back, on her way to the living room she grabbed her bag, dropping it on the floor next to her favorite chair she tugged out her laptop and powered it on. Nothing new in her email, no big surprise there, but there was a chat waiting for her. She clicked on the icon and the screen filled with the same word. "DESTINY"

She exited out of the program and stared at her laptop. Did she get a virus? That was weird. She decided to leave her laptop where it was until her brother got home from work. While only a year and a half older than her, they were completely different. He was bookish and computer smart and she was athletic and outgoing. They were also close however and most people mistook them for twins. He completed college early was employed as a computer science researcher at a local software firm. She looked at the clock. He got home around 6pm and it was only 4:30-ish.

It was also Friday, which meant after dinner the two would pack up a few things and head to the local card shop and play Magic the Gathering. A holdover from their days of youth. While they don't play super competitively, they find the game still fun and engage in it casually. More so during the summer months than during the winter months. Sarah has had her fair share of ridicule but she brushes it off as people not understanding the awesome appeal of the game. Two wizards, facing each other in combat, using the cards to tell a story. It was always so much fun.

She glanced at her computer. A virus projecting the words "Destiny" on the screen. It was certainly a weird way to get someone's attention.

-

After running the scan for a third time her brother, Sam concluded that the machine was perfectly safe and that it must have been a harmless bot account trying to mess with her. While she didn't remember adding anyone, Sarah said that she would be more careful about accepting friend requests.

The pair gathered up their decks and headed out to the shop in Sam's car, Sarah wouldn't be able to afford a car of her own until she started working. The one thing about her parents was that their kids were raised to appreciate the hard work they had to do to get what they wanted. She hasn't gotten an allowance in years, Sam usually helps her get new cards and she does some secretarial work for a few companies during the summer months but she never has enough time to work to get a good pay.

The shop was nearly empty as it always was this time of day. The Friday Night Magic crowd would be rolling in closer to 8 when the event started. Sam and Sarah usually hung around to watch a few games but almost never participated, mostly because the players that took part in the event were really, really good and the two never considered themselves that great of players.

Sam bought them each a couple packs of the latest set, called Khans of Tarkir. The set involved three-color clans and had a lot of neat tricks. Sam preferred to play with the aggressive Temur clan while Sarah preferred the subtle powers of the Jeskai clan. They had both attended the Prerelease event and had been carefully boostering their decks to make them much better, Sarah still felt that her Jeskai had some way to go before it would be powerful enough to take on random competitors and Sam's Temur deck was nearly complete. He still tweaked the deck from time to time but mostly just trying to find the right combos that he can use.

They played a couple games with just each other and then took on a couple of the other regulars. Sarah chatted with Kevin, the store owner a cool dude with a few tendencies from his hippy past, such as a ponytail that went to his knees and a twitchy smile. But he was damn nice as a person. He got his start in game shops during the Dungeons and Dragons craze, but quickly added other games such as Magic the Gathering and a few other games like it.

Sam was browsing the small comic and manga section when his phone started ringing. Sarah was headed his way when hers started to play the Doctor Who theme song. They both answered them, and staring at each other heard the same message.

"Greetings, you have been selected. Please standby for transport." Sam was about to open his mouth to protest when he suddenly felt very strange. It was like he was swaying away from the world, but time seemed to have stopped. On the otherside of the low bookcase he could see a similar expression pass across Sarah's as she experienced the same thing. "Impossible!" he managed to say as the world went gray and then black.

Sarah felt the warm sun on her face, then realized that it was more than just warm, it was friggin' hot. She sat up and immediately felt an immense migraine hit her, she heard Sam groaning a few feet away. She laid back down and stared at the bright sky trying to sort out her jumbled up thoughts. Hold on, it was nearly dark and they were at the shop. She forced herself upright despite the pain in her head. She was certainly not in the shop anymore. There was a lake with soft waves undulating in front of her, she was laying on the shoreline with her brother. Not another soul in sight.

"Where the hell are we!?" she asked herself, suddenly breathless. She looked back up at the sky and noticed that there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The most curious thing however, was that there was a massive stone structure shaped like a double-sided pyramid floating there, as if it were perfectly natural. She blinked a few times. She was sure she had seen that somewhere.

She went to call for her parents to come help them thinking that they had been kidnapped and dump here or something and she spotted her phone laying on the ground some feet away. She picked it up and clicked it on. Nothing happened. It was completely dead. "Dammit." She thought stuffing it into her pocket, she noted that she could still feel her Magic  
deck in her jacket. She went over to Sam, who was apparently taking inventory of his appendages.

"Sarah!" he said jumping to his feet unsteadily. "I...don't know what happened." he said looking around. He saw the massive stone object and his jaw nearly hit the ground. "Wait...that's...impossible." he said staring at it as it merely hovered in place. "Yeah." Sarah said staring at it with him. "No...Sarah...you started playing Magic after I did...when I started playing that object was featured in the set..." he looked at her with his eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Sarah, we're on Zendikar!" Sarah felt her mouth open and close with a million questions at once and she made a closer inspection of the world around them.

On the otherside of the lake what she thought was a wooded area seemed to stretch  
endlessly in one direction, it was a forest...there was large ripples in the lake itself as if large somethings were underneath it...ripples big enough that the fish that produced it would be nearly impossible.

Strange birds flew around the massive object, something her brother kept calling a  
'hedron'. Could they really have been transported to Zendikar? How the hell were they supposed to get home...she hoped that this was just some trick...some massive 3-D experience that they were hooked up to. She kicked the sand, watching the millions of grains fall back to the earth...if it was a game it was a damn nice one. Certainly made TERA look like junk.

Sam was inspecting some plant life and dusting his hands off on his jeans and looking around perplexed. "Sarah...time for some think tank talk..." he called to her. She headed towards him watching where she stepped in case she hit a booby-trap like in a game.

"Okay..." she said staring hard at the forest, she thought she had heard something big roaring. "Okay." he cleared his throat. "Assuming we are, in fact on Zendikar...then we have a really, really big problem." she looked at her panicked brother. "You mean besides us having no idea how the hell to get home or find shelter and food?" she asked. "Yes...this is paramount to those issues..." he glanced at the hedron, Sarah thought it looked safe but now it looked menacing. "When the storyline left Zendikar it was in the process of being torn asunder by massive monsters from the aether. They could disintegrate anything they came into contact with...strange that they don't seem to be near here..."  
he glanced at the hedron. "Unless that thing emits a power field they don't like...it was after all, responsible for their imprisonment here." he frowned. "Unless they left Zendikar all together, but it seems remarkably intact..."

Sarah's throat was suddenly dry. "What...uh...happens to something when it's  
disintegrated?" she asked. Sam gave her a wry smile. "Ever heard of the song 'Dust on the Wind'?" Sarah suddenly wanted to cry. He put his arms around her. "Don't worry sis, we'll figure this out...and get home...somehow." he took her hand in his. "Come on, let's get off the beach and find some shade, this heat is getting unbearable."

There was a sudden crashing sound as they watched in horror as parts of the woods behind them started to crumble. Massive tentacles were sweeping and gesturing and it slithered forward the trees just shattered into dust and blew away. "Dear...god..." Sarah said stumbling backwards. Sam's hand was tightening on hers with almost bone-crushing force. "Sam...what...are we...going to do?" she stammered.

With a loud cry, a white furred figure leap from a tree near the large beast, the  
double-headed axe it swung over its head began to glow with a bright inner light. The blade sliced through the beast like a hot knife through butter, once its delicate insides were exposed to its own powers it began to crumble and shattered like glass, the remains blew away as dust in the wind.

More cries of the strange beast could be heard coming from below the treeline. The figure turned and looked at them. Even if she hadn't noticed the double-headed axe or the scarred eye she would have known that figure anywhere. "Planeswalker Ajani!?" she asked. The figure nodded solemnly. "I sense that you two are also Planeswalkers...we must hurry and flee before the Eldrazi spawn catch on to us." he strode over to the water and smacked the surface with his axe. There was a deep bubbling and a merfolk lady rose partially out of the water. "Master Ajani..." she said her voice soft and melodic. "Lady Kiora...we need a distraction so we can leave..." he bowed low. "I will remain in your debt." she laughed. "You think I require an excuse to exercise my beloved creatures of the deep?" she spun and dove back under the water. The surface began to violently shake.

Ajani motioned for the teens to follow him and under cover of a large tree on the  
other side the lake they waited. The first tentacle approached the clearing where the lake stood. A much large tentacle, shot out of the water and wrapped around the Eldrazi spawn pulling it into the water there was a nasty crunch and the remaining part of the Eldrazi evaporated. Ajani gave the kids a stern look. "She may not be able to hold them off for long...it is time for us to go." with movements lithe as his form implies he took off through the forest, the kids right behind him. "What do you mean, we're also Planeswalkers?" Sam asked when they stopped to catch their breath.

Ajani, who remained perfectly calm and did not appear to be as wore out as the kids  
looked him over. "Besides your unusual dress, I can sense your sparks, just as you can sense mine." he stood straight. There was a certain ethereal quality to him that Sam and Sarah couldn't put their fingers on. "But, they'll be time to discuss that later, we need to keep moving. Once we find a quiet place we will 'walk away from this cursed plane...I only came because Kiora called for me." he took off at a run again, the kids groaned and followed the Leonin.

They found a clearing. "Now...how does one Planeswalk..." Sarah asked a bit sheepishly. "Ah..that would explain your forgetfulness...this must have been your first walk, it can always be so disorientating. Very well, close your eyes and find your source of strength, call it to you, let it well up from you and overtake you...then..the hard part...imagine yourself not here..not anywhere and then let it become reality...I will wait within the Blind Eternities, once you have appeared there we will head to our next destination together." he began to glow with a bright white light and faded away.

The two closed their eyes. Sam found himself thinking of his family and how much they mean to him...he found that he felt something resonate within him when he did that, so he focused on it. He could feel a strange sensation begin to well...it was like diving suddenly into a stream of fresh cool water. He let the water carry him away from this place, let it take him into a place that does not exist.

Sarah didn't see her brother dematerialize, but she sensed his presence vanish, she was reminded of her love of sports and physical activity, how when she concentrated before launching a pitch in softball she could throw a ball faster and harder than anyone she knew. She let this feeling of strength and accomplishment fill her and then, like the softball, she flung herself from Zendikar.

She felt nothing and everything, she could feel solid ground beneath her feet that  
suddenly gave way to mud, water, fire, ice, near constantly she opened her eyes and her breath was snatched away by the winds of destruction. There before her was a green orb with a surface that constantly shifted to the different places of Zendikar, like all of Zendikar had been squeezed into something the size of a basketball. Ajani stood near her  
and her brother near him. He nodded and began to walk towards other distant lights. She followed, her mind a mixture of confusion and exhilaration. She found that no matter what form the ground took as long as she kept moving she was fine.

Nearby a mountain vista suddenly roared into existence only to be shattered by a meteor shower. It came to her then that the Blind Eternities were a continual cycle of creation and destruction. The planes then must be the things that were able to maintain their creation after their initial start. Amazing!

A shower of sparks flew right through her, and she swore a wave was going to wash her brother and Ajani away, but they held fast and the wave went through them, as it did, she saw at their core a very bright light, that seemed to move in the same rhythm of this tormented place. Ajani indicated that they were near the end of their journey, before her was an orb that had a world of immense buildings, with so many people that it seemed impossible for them all to live there. "Ravnica." she thought to herself in amazement. Ajani reached for the orb and vanished, her brother did the same and she followed suit.

Nearly instantaneously the tormented howl of the Eternities was replaced with a massive cityscape and for a moment she could see it stretch on into near infinity when with a tug she felt reality reassert itself and she was yanked to her feet. She was standing on the cobbled streets and around them people bustled to and fro, griffins with armored men and women swooped around watching for thieves.

"Ravnica..." Sam said breathlessly, he was exhausted and so was she. Ajani put his hand on each of their shoulders. "I have a house not far from here you can stay at for the duration of your stay. I am proud to say that you have completed your first 'Walk...welcome...human children...to Ravnica."

Sam and Sarah's heads were nearly swiveling as they took in all the sights they could of the endless city. There was commerce being done of all kinds, a four-armed Vedalken was trying to sell what looked like agitated and cursing gerbils to a group of bewildered children.

Ajani walked down a quiet street and opened a door to a small house. Inside a fire was already burning. "Welcome home...now...tell me your story." he said setting his axe in an alcove and taking a seat by the fire.

Sarah was nearly asleep the moment she sat down, so Sam, sitting in a very comfortable chair cleared his throat and began with how they were fixing Sarah's computer...

END 


	2. Chapter 2 : It's a Jungle Out There

Chapter Two: "It's A Jungle Out There"  
By Dr Faust

Sam and Sarah spent the next few days getting acquainted with the style of life that infused all of Ravnica. While Ajani was sensitive to their plight he explained that he didn't know of a way back to their home plane and that he would have to be taking off soon anyway. He left the siblings with enough supplies and gold to forge their own path and told them that they shouldn't fret, the Multiverse chose them to be vessels of its spark, it wouldn't have chosen people who would die from starvation in a huge city.

So, the two did the only thing that came naturally to them…they started looking for steady jobs. While they knew that they couldn't stay on Ravnica forever, they wanted to establish for themselves a base of operations, like Ajani had his own little house in a quiet street.

They knew there was going to be other Planeswalkers and they did their best to blend in. Fortunately, Ajani had lead them to a plane that had a substantial amount of humans. If he had lead them to a plane where just be existing they would be considered outsiders' life would probably have been harder. They both found work doing menial tasks while in the spare time, with their windows drawn began to experiment with magecraft.

One thing that they both realized is that they had their decks, the other thing they realized is that their decks are very close at least philosophically to the style of play they have always felt best fit them. They decided to avoid summoning creatures as a large creature suddenly tearing their little flat asunder would probably have generate much of the forementioned attention they were avoiding.

They began with simple spells, things like levitation. Using his Flight enchantment card, Sam focused on himself while holding the card. He began to levitate a few inches but his excitement broke his concentration and he landed, roughly on the floor. He laid there laughing for a few minutes before he managed to do the exercise again, this time levitating unsteadily to about two feet in the air before exhausting his concentration again. He laid on the floor panting. "They sure make this look easy back home!"

Sarah was having her own sort of luck, she found that her deck was now mostly fire spells, this was okay as she enjoyed using the red deck strategy, but never got around to playing with it. She carefully selected the least destructive of the spells, which was a hard choice to be sure and point the card at the fireplace. She concentrated on the image of the card and the image of the fire place, imagining that the two were almost the same. "Fireball!" she whispered. A blast of red energy struck the fireplace and it immediately ignited. She felt a drain that was hard to explain, it was like some small muscle that she didn't know she had was cramping briefly.

Slumping on the floor next to her brother she sighed. "At least we know we have magic…that's a good start…but I hope we don't need to defend ourselves anytime soon. That would end in disaster with our current skill levels." She tapped her finger thoughtfully on her chin. "It's been almost a month since Ajani left us…I wonder what adventures he's off on…" she stared at the ceiling. Fortunately for them, their neighbors seemed to be members of the Simic Combine and spent most of their time doing the same sort of experimentation they were both trying. Only theirs was probably illegal and more dangerous. Sarah could only hope that like the sets implied that they kept their experiments to themselves or at the least, restricted themselves to the labs.

* * *

It was during a routine shopping trip that Sarah managed to catch a glimpse of the man they all knew and loved to hate, Jace. It was only a passing glimpse but she swore she saw his blue eyes flashed with mana the moment she passed him by. Could he have been scanning her? He was a powerful psychic and while she would never admit it to her brother as he would never let her hear the end of it, she had a crush on the telepath. She strode back to their apartment and sat their few meager groceries on the counter. It was amazing that while their diet was mostly cheap fungus grown by the Golgari that they had managed to in a cruel sense of irony, use fungus to imitate life. She pulled several different types of the fungus out of the small bag she had bought just to carry them around in and once again marveled at the not-fruit. There was several that looked like carrots that she was planning on turning into a stew, a few potatoes and some that even supposedly tasted like apples. If you could believe the haggard looking man who sold them to her.

She lined them all up on the counter and made a mental note to wash them thoroughly. It had only taken her one trip – By complete accident! – To a Golgari Rot Farm to make up her mind that they really needed to use better sanitation practices.

Sam entered the apartment from his job, using his developing blue magic skills he was finding that more and more people needed his talents for jobs around the marketplace. But he had told the townsfolk that he could only do so much per day without exhausting himself, he spent most of his time doing the work they requested of him by hand or using simple tools that he had purchased. He placed a blackened lump of metal on the counter by his sister's fungi and sighed. "Gonna need a new hammer…those damned cultists decided to try to raze the marketplace to the ground again. I couldn't do anything against their native magic skills. Fortunately a battalion was nearby that managed to be able to put out the fire and an Azorius guard was going to march them to the Guildpact Keeper directly." He looked his sister in the eye. "What?" he asked.

She wanted to say something about having met said Guildpact Keeper earlier in the day but remember her brother's taunts from back when they first started playing Magic. She realized that he would probably make her blush and she'd get angry over nothing like always. "Nothing, you have ash in your hair." She said flatly and went back about making their stew while he tried to learn how to read the strange runic language of the Ravnicans. "The least they could do is make some sort of guide! I don't get how we can speak with them but reading and writing is off the tables." He said tossing the book aside and running his hand through his hair in frustration.

Sarah thought for a moment. "Maybe because of how we're attempting to communicate…our sparks probably let us communicate with most beings that we come across…at least those that speak like we do…we just need to read like we are used to and the issue would probably solve itself…unless something is special about the language or it's beyond our sparks ability to interpret." She said picking the book up and thumbing to a random page and glancing it up and down. She tried not to focus on the words but on the ideas they represented. The runic symbols sort of shifted to the Latin alphabet she was used to but then swam back out of focus…She shook her head. "It works! But I'm not good at it…I have to focus really hard to get a single letter to appear."

She helped Sam get the idea down while their stew steamed over a low fire. She found herself thinking that this wasn't actually that bad…granted they still had dead cell phones…their families probably thought they were dead or worse, they were only here in spirit and their bodies were being cremated or something equally horrifying. She cleared her mind of the thoughts. It wouldn't be like her parents to just give up on them. Besides, Ajani didn't seem like a ghost and if he could physically travel through the planes why couldn't they?

She shook her head, not wanting to think about the world they can't seem to travel to. If there was an answer to their problem they would find it, sooner than later. If the world they came from existed as a Plane they would probably be able to find their way there like they had found their way to Zendikar and then to Ravnica.

* * *

The next day she found herself wandering the streets and she realized just what a madhouse she had found herself in. This place was like a jungle...it just proved she thought, that no matter how far you move the people and animals forward as a civilization they always seemed to keep most of their animal tendencies. She took a couple back alleyways that she knew lead her to the marketplace and then not much farther to their little flat.

She realized with insurmountable horror that she was now lost...the alleyway seemed to just connect to an endless maze of them. In this endless city she knew that getting lost and being out after dark made one easy prey. While the night sky riders did their best there was only so much they could see in the dark...the dark was the time of the night best suited for the dark cultists and stalkers to work their vile crafts.

She spun around and tried her best to retrace her steps but it seemed endless, her heart was thundering with every footstep she made. She thought about asking a Ravnican for help but they were usually a suspicious lot...while if they were on the street together one might give advice they almost never opened their doors unless they were expecting company from a friend or relative.

She knew that Sam would be getting worried about her but there was nothing for her to do...she felt her knees go weak and she sank to the ground by an empty house.

She was completely, and hopelessly lost.

END


	3. Chapter 3 : Hopelessly Lost

Chapter Three : "Hopelessly Lost"

By Dr Faust

_**Sorry for the late update, life as always struggles to intervene! Please enjoy this chapter. **_

* * *

Sarah's head was spinning she was lost in an endless cityscape with no way of figuring out how to contact her brother for help. She had some magical skills but they wouldn't match up to someone who has been practising for much, much longer and she was only able to use the magic in the cards she now possessed, which upon her first Planeswalk had changed. They were now all red spells and mostly destruction spells, no creatures. She also had noted that her deck only held about 10-15 cards she could use. No lands, which made sense as she was going to have to pull mana from the land around her. Assuming she could find enough mana, the mana of this place was weird, it was all of the different types of mana all intertwined at once. No wonder the mages of this plane were skilled, they had to be.

Fortunately, the crime rate in the city has dropped since Jace took office as leader of the guild, but there were still rogues that prowled every chance they get and took every easy mark they could find. While she was sort of new to the idea of being mugged she certainly wasn't looking forward to the spectacle.

She kept her senses alert as she moved through the darkening alleyways. It seemed night always fell when it was least convenient. Sarah knew that Sam would be freaking out after a while and would probably try to convince one of the guards to help him look for her, but she couldn't risk standing still either. She figured if she could find her way back to one of the familiar busy streets she would be okay.

She was watching behind herself when she bumped into someone wearing some kind of leather, they smelled like body odour and too much alcohol. "I'm sorry!" she said turning quickly to see who she had ran into. It was a tall man with a muscular build, his face was a patchwork quilt of scars, tattoos, and painful looking piercings, fresh blood dripped from a few of the more demented looking ones. "I'm sorry!" she said again stepping back quickly.

The man snarled at her. "Sorry? You think an apology is gonna be enough, my cute little waif..." he started circling her. "I think, you owe me something more than an apology...ain't that right, boys?' he asked as two more members of his cult stepped forward. It was then that Sarah made the connection, these men were members of the Rakdos Cult, a powerful and dangerous clan of demon worshippers. They weren't exactly known for passing around cookies and gift baskets.

"I said I was sorry! I don't have any money...what could you possible want from me?" she said stepping back again, this time feeling the stone of a building behind her. She knew if she made enough commotion it would draw the attention of the guards, but it was dangerous because these Cultists wouldn't give her the opportunity if they could avoid it. They knew as much about this city as she did...probably, hell of a lot more.

The one that seemed to be the ring leader, or at least of this tiny three-man circus stepped forward again. "I'm thinking...that maybe you should come to the show with me tonight...for someone cute like you...it'll be to die for!" he started cackling, his voice had a nasty nasal quality to it, like his nose had been broken too many times. Given their penchant for fights and riots, it probably had.

Quickly thinking through all of the spells she had her disposal she remember that she might be able to summon one of the guard griffin's with a flare of fire straight up. They were very keen and trained to attack ruffians perpetuating violence...they were enchanted to they could tell the difference...that and they were smart as hell. At least...in her world they were. She raised her hand the sky and felt the fury of the world around her, even that radiating off from her assailants. "Fireball!" she cried. A weak jet of flames sprouted from her hand, but it didn't clear the building's roof.

"Ah, our little waif 'ere thinks she's a pyromancer, then eh?" he raised his hands as crackling flames spun from his hands and wrapped around his shoulders. "Then let's see what she thinks when I get all fired up!" he flung his hands forward and twin jets of hot flame shot forward, Sarah managed to get away in time but the building behind her wasn't so lucky.

"Boys!" he called, his voice carrying father than it should have. "I think it's time for a riot!" he waved his hands and blew out all of the windows on another nearby building. One of the other men in the group whipped a large and cruel looking weapon off from his back, it looked like the illegitimate love child between an axe and a mace. He started smashing everything within reach, getting closer to Sarah all the time.

"No..." she said stumbling around a corner trying to get away, she heard laughing and cackling that eerily reminded her of a hyena. She figured it was more Cultists answering the call of the man that she bumped into...Good grief, they're going to try to level a city block just because she bumped into the man, good to see that they're taking their aggression out on something other than her...she wanted to find some place safe but she couldn't guarantee that she would be.

After more blind wandering, with the sound of destruction getting louder behind her, she heard the rustling march of armour so hopefully that was the guards coming to put an end to it, she figured she'd wait out the commotion then ask for guidance home. There was a massive explosion and it shook the ground. It seemed the cultists were putting up a fight. She noticed there was a building that had a terrace that ran all the way around it, there was an access ladder from the ground, probably so tenants can go up and down a their leisure. She scurried up the ladder to see what was going on.

The mad game of the Rakdos had summoned something large and flaming, it was smashing buildings and burning guards to a crisp. "I dislike order and law...I'll start with you lot and then keep going...once that high and mighty Jace shows up, I'll crush him too...this has been a long time coming...I must thank the waif when I catch up to her...she was very helpful in getting me started..." he commanded his beast with a wave of his hand, the beast started crunching towards the remaining guards, they didn't have much in the way of defence.

There was a keening cry from above and a platoon of guard griffins came swooping in, they had armed guards on their backs, they guards waving their hands in synchronization, conjured a large net made of white light that they wrapped around the beast, which was no match for the speed of the griffins, once tangled they connected the ends of the glowing chains and the beast was immobilized. "We'll get a banish mage up here to take care of the beast." the voice of man who must have been a captain said as he dismounted his carriage. "Men, trap the mage!" he ordered. The men sprung into action and drew their swords.

There was a spiral of light and man in blue robes with a triangular symbol appeared. His voice carried for blocks, Sarah assumed it was because of some magical enhancement. "Cultists! You have been accused of violating the civil code of order! You have left the appropriate riot zones and begun causing reckless endangerment of the people of Ravnica, as such you are ordered to cease and desist and take responsibility for your crimes!" the lawmage ordered. The Rakdos sneered. One of them seemed a little unsure about continuing, Sarah reasoned he must have been the smart one of the group.

The Rakdos mage summoned more fire around his fists,but it was different, black mana flickered in and out of the flames. Sarah knew from the flavor of the Rakdos what he was going to attempt. He was gonna try to get his other Rakdos cultists imbued with the very power of chaos itself. He was channelling the power of their lord and master, Rakdos himself.

The flames wrapped around all three Cultists as they started chanting dark words, words that filled them with power and gave them sway over the dark things of Rakdos. The large man with the axe-mace began slamming it against the cobblestones where sparks flew.

"Men, we've been through this before. Take them out at the right timing." the guard captain said, drawing his sword. In the flickering flames Sarah saw that he was actually quite young, but his presence and battlefield command had made him seem so much older. She also noticed that he bore no semblance of fear.

She saw what he had meant about timing, no longer chanting the cultists were now in the throes of strange ecstasy as the dark magic flowed through them. The fires of the flame mage seemed to grow larger and more intense. Rakdos must have smiled upon him. He raised his arms and sparks flew from his fingertips. "Let's go!" he howled. The other Rakdos seemed to be peering from around corners, not wanting to get involved with the guards, but still wanted to see the action.

Whipping his arm around as he summoned a whip of flame, the flame mage swung it towards a nearby guard, but the guard had had time to prepare and had conjured a shield of white light that repelled the flame. The guards were not trained mages, but knew how to work the magic of angels. Praying to their guardian angel, light danced among their armour and weapons, infusing them with powerful and divine energy. This was certainly going to be interesting when it collided with the dark magic of Rakdos.

The axe-mace swung down at a guard, but he swung up with his sword with equal force and then some, now that he was infused with the light of his angel. The blade slice right through the head of the axe, which fell to the ground with a solid thud, flowing elegantly from one move to the next, he slashed and parried at the man until he was backed into a corner. The lawmage spun into action, whipping his arms as blue mana danced around the cultist, pinning him to the wall with blueish white chains that seemed to make him dazed as well. "Good work, soldier." the lawmage complimented. The soldier bowed. "Doing my duty, sir." he said turning his attention back to the fight.

The mage was holding off three guards with a high degree of skill. Every thrust and parry seemed to slip through flames and not flesh. He cackled with delight as his flames broke through the shielding of one of the guards and the man lit on fire. His screams would haunt Sarah's dreams for months.

The captain apparently had enough, he ordered his men to step aside. He took a stance and then rushed at the mage, who dodged him and sent more flames his way, spinning on his heel, the captain evaded the flames and with a flick of his wrist summoned dozens of blades of light that shot at the mage, his flames burned a few of them to nothing, but a couple found their mark and he stumbled, seeing his chance, the captain turned his blade over his hand and whipped it around his head, infusing it with white light as he did so. Releasing it, a chain of white light connected the blade to his hand, the blade slid right into the stomach of the Cultist. "Demon scum!" he howled as he hauled the white light chain with his hand, pulling down, the Cultist was brought to his knees. The lawmage slipped in between the Captain and the Rakdos, once again using strange dance like movements, the blue magic seeped around the flames and bound the mage, his fires sputtered and died...with a howl of agony, the red flame beast trapped by the griffins vanished in a fiery explosion.

The rest of the cultists sensing that the fun was over scattered, including the one that was with the three originally.

"Two Rakdos cultists...not bad.." said the lawmage examining the wound on the cultist after the captain withdrew his sword. "You didn't even leave a scratch on him...Incredible." he said.

The captain bowed to the lawmage. "We leave them to you, our guards will escort them to you courts. By Emeria." he said ordering two of the men to do so and started to leave. "Wait!" Sarah called, he paused and looked up at her. "Miss?" he asked.

"Just a minute!" she called back as she hurried down the ladder, slipping and falling from top of the last ten rungs. "Ow..." she said laying on her back. "Miss!" the captain said, rushing over and picking her up. "Sorry..." he said setting back on her feet. "It's alright...I uh...need help finding my way home...this is sort of my fault..." the captain raised an eyebrow. "I think...you should start from the beginning." he said taking her arm. "I will see you home."

As they left Golgari scouts began working with the Selesenya healers that arrived, the Golgari took the dead while the Selesnya took the injured. A Selesnyan Centuar took the names of the deceased from one of the guards. It was his duty to deliver the news of their passing to the next of kin. Finally an Orzhov priest cleared the area of the demonic influence of Rakdos, the lawmage handed him a bag of gold.

As Sarah recounted her steps as best she could to the young captain, including telling him that she was the reason the Rakdos went into a frenzy, she realized that all of the guilds seemed to work together...and the Rakdos even had their place as they kept the income flowing.

The captain listened intently. "I see..." he said tapping his chin. "You have done nothing wrong, but merely be in the wrong place at the wrong time...come...I'll see you home...I am Captain Victory Narz. Please address me as Captain Narz." he said taking her arm again. "You are?"

"Sarah..." she said, not sure if her last name meant anything anymore. "Well Miss Sarah, you will not be bothered by them again tonight." he said as he helped her home.

* * *

The large meeting hall was nearly empty but for the lone figure that sat at a desk. There was a massive pile of books and the figure was furiously writing his notes on a piece of parchment. "Master..." the man said, his face covered in grime and sweat from his quick getaway at the hands of the meddlesome Boros Legion. "What, you're distracting me...and you smell worse than usual." the man said, peering at the Rakdos Cultist over his spectacles. The man at the desk was almost painfully thin and his clothes fit him poorly. "We encountered one of those people you were interested in...but they weren't among the group you've seen." the man took his spectacles off and swivelled the chair. "You have my attention." he said, his tone crisp as always.

"She used a simple fireball spell, but the way she cast it was similar to the ones you were watching. She also caused Enrich and Teres to get detained by the Azorious."

The man thoughtfully steepled his fingers. "Interesting...she have any real talent?" he asked. The cultist shook his head. "I didn't sense anything from her, just confusion and desperation." he said, rubbing his forehead. "I know you hate being in with those grimy cultists but soon, we will have what we need...use your spies to keep an eye on them. I want to know some more about them before I make my move." he said going back to his writing.

"Oh! If you come here again, and risk exposure of our plans to the rest of the Dimir..." the man said without turning, but his shadow elongated and twisted rising up from the floor and with a booming dark voice yelled. "THEN I WILL CONSUME YOU AS WELL!"

With a panicked expression, the Dimir agent fled from the hall, the man's shadow returned to normal and he continued writing as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Hm...odd squeaking in my elbow...that'll need repair..."

* * *

When Sarah had first seen her brother she thought she was going to cry. He looked so haggard and rough fro worry. She recounted the story and introduced Captain Narz. He thanked the captain and promised that he'd take better care of his sister. The captain shook both their hands, although his gaze lingered on Sarah, he wished them both a pleasant evening and he departed.

"I think he likes you." Sam teased. Sarah hit him in the shoulder. "Ow!" he said rubbing the sore mark. She stared at her hands and clenched them into fists. "I will have to get stronger." she said. She looked at her brother. "We both will have to get stronger...we can't live here and not take the time to improve. This city is actually fairly safe...in the right places...it will give us the opportunity to get better so we can figure out where we have to go from here." Sam nodded. "It's time." he said pulling a piece of parchment from the cupboard.

It was a guild information sheet. "Sam...you can't be serious..." she said staring at him. "We don't belong here to join a guild!"

Sam grinned. "But there is training to be found by joining them...besides...sitting around isn't going to help us get home...our parents are going to be completely worried by the time we get there. They'll probably already thought we died by now..." he said as tears begin to well in his eyes. "I can't speak for you, but I just want to go home." he said.

She nodded finally. "You're right...of course you're right...we'll have to join a guild...they'll help us get stronger and probably even help us get better accommodations and food..." she sprang up from the chair she was sitting on. "Damn it! I forgot the food! I dropped it in the all of the commotion..." she said slinking back down to the chair.

"Tomorrow..." Sam said already trying to decided which guild he was going to apply to. "We'll get stronger." he said moving to his sister's side and patting her on the shoulder. "Tomorrow we will get more food, but for now there is stuff here, not much...but first daylight we're going to head to the Transguild Promenade. That's where all of the guild's operate their recruitment centers from. We'll figure out which guild is best for us."

"But what if, the guilds we choose are different ones?" she asked looking up at him. He smiled back at her. "Then we work our hardest for our guilds and we keep close tabs on each other." he said.

From the roof the agent heard everything he needed to. He cancelled the spell that enhanced his hearing. Taking two silent steps and then leaping into the air he transformed mid stride into a large bat that fluttered away into the dark silently. His master was going to be interested in this little development.

* * *

The next morning the two headed towards the Transguild Promenade. It wasn't hard to find. It was a place that all of the lands and districts frequented by the guilds connected. People ran booths out of there. There were goblins giving sales pitches about Izzet Products, others trying to persuade people if they felt that they were smart enough they could join the Izzet Guild itself.

The Selesnya Conclave preached of harmony and healing, while the Rakdos offered free and probably tainted wine to people to convince them to join, they were being carefully observed by both the Boros Legion and the Azorious Senate members who were present.

The Dimir House offered to teach you skills that allowed you to work anywhere for anyone...at the right price. The Orzhova talked about a life of selfless ministry...and then some.

Sam felt his head spinning. It was going to be hard to pick a guild. His sister wandered off to look at some of the stuff offered by the other guilds as he moved through their materials one at a time, carefully avoiding the Gruul and the Rakdos booths as he had no interest in working for either of those guilds. The Rakdos were too...demented and the Gruul were too fierce. Sam didn't have the stamina to keep up with the shamans, who even now were demonstrating their power over the wilds of Ravnica.

One thing he noticed about himself, is that all mages could use any magic and any spell. But it seemed that there were those that resonated most strongly with him. He had joking said to Sarah that all of those silly personality tests they used to take on Facebook for fun, which Guild were you, what color were you, seemed to actually bear some fruit...but he told her to keep an open mind. It was big world, Ravnica, perhaps to discover their hidden talents all it was going to take was the right people.

The only thing that sort of deterred him from just asking to shadow each guild was that the guilds made it clear that once you signed up for a guild, you either were with that guild for life or until they released you. There was no turning back once you joined. More than once he found himself coming back to the Simic Combine. They discussed how they sought not to perfect nature...but to enhance it. To give it the ability to adapt and change. This somehow resonated with him, but at the same time sort of freaked him out, because the person giving the message only looked human. His body seemed to be composed entirely of some sort of translucent sludge.

"I..uh...will need time to consider." he said to the humanoid slime, which bowed its head. "Of course, please take all the time you need to consider joining us. You may return at any time here. I never leave." it replied. He figured that it probably didn't. It probably didn't require food either, judging from the open roof of the booth it must be feeding off from the sunlight. Rather fascinating. He sighed. There was still the Izzet to consider, they were the chief engineers of the Ravnica world. If there was any place that his technology skills could be used it would probably be with them. But they didn't seem to view technology in the same way that he had. Unless it was wildly unstable or unpredictable...or did things that he wouldn't have even thought of, it didn't interest them. Even as he was speaking to the Simic Slime Guy, a goblin was idly adjusting the readout of his guantlet when it shortcircuited frying him with his own mana supply. Two of the other goblins just picked him up and tossed him to the Golgari booth, were two shambling elves that looked like they had been dead a long time fumbled to pick it up and carry it away.

"_Convenient...aren't they?"_ he heard a voice. It seemed to come from everywhere and no where. "_Now, now..." _the voice hissed. "_Don't answer me vocally, you seemed to have some interesting knowledge...of a world far away...incredible...I haven't seen many people with this knowledge..."_ the voice said and he felt a tendril coiling around inside his head, it was as if there was a smoke-snake wrapping around his brain.

"_Your mind is fascinating, it seems to resist me and yet at the same time only does so on instinct...you are very knowledgeable of our world...what then...I must ask...is a trading card game?"_ the sly voice continued. _"Ah, young Master Beleren is a Planeswalker, that somehow explains so much...I must thank you for this knowledge."_ with surmounting horror Sam realized who this voice belonged to. _"Hah, amusing...even as you realized who I am, you are powerless to stop me...But...I like some of your ideas...join my Guild and I will give you the power you seek...to defend...to control...to destroy..."_ it said, the voice was so seductive and calm. Sam shook his head. _"I will leave you with a final clue...you're staring right at my Guild booth..." _ then the tendril was gone. Sam shook his head again. The Izzet Symbol gleamed in the sunlight. "Niv-Mizzet..." he muttered. The dragonic genius was trying to draw him into the Izzet Guild.

But as Sam stood there carefully planning out his choices he began to realize. The Izzet was probably the right guild for him. But could he risk sharing his knowledge with them? Most of them would probably think him a fool, but Niv-Mizzet has already shown an interest in him. Judging from the glazed expression on one of the goblins' face, he must have conveyed this interest to the recruiters as well. Great, it seems that Nivvy was trying to still call the shots, even though Jace had already made it clear that he was in charge.

But the Izzet would probably be able to teach him to shield his mind from Niv, something that only the inner sanctum members were allowed to do. It would probably benefit him to at least give it a shot. If they didn't like him, odds are he'd probably be vaporized...at least that would end most of his present issues.

He began walking towards the booth. If any of the guild members were to know anything about their present situation and how to reverse it, it would probably be Izzet. They hoarded knowledge and exploited it. They wouldn't let anyone near their archives anyway. Unless you on the inside. He waved his hand at the goblin who smiled back as warmly as a goblin could. "Welcome! We've been expecting you..." it said in a tiny, nasally voice.

Sarah wasn't having much better luck deciding which guild to seek out. To her, they all seemed to have awesome ideals and interesting stances on issues. She was trying to find the guild that would allow her the chance to grow more powerful and yet, give her the control and skills necessary to progress. She also kept eyeing the Izzet Guild, which she sees Sam having a deep discussion with a goblin at. Finally after weighing her options she sighed and sauntered over to the table. At least she'd be able to study with her brother. She introduced herself to the goblin who seemed friendly enough, she couldn't seem to shake the impression that the area smelled like burned leather and feet.

In his lair, Niv-Mizzet smiled to himself. Not just one...but two! What fortune! Of course who needs luck when you are the great Niv-Mizzet...he had calculated this probability ever since he heard about her run in with the Rakdos Wackos. His mind exceeds even his own expectations.

He watched through the eyes of the Goblin recruiter who was too dumb to realize the great honour he had been given to serve as Niv's vessel. He sensed great potential from both of them but the boy especially intrigued him. His knowledge of advanced technology would jump-start Niv's plans in unexpected but incredible directions...just how he liked it. Don't get anyone wrong. Niv mused. He liked surprises as much as the next person, but when you can calculate everything there isn't much that is a 'surprise'

He smiled to himself again. What a glorious day.

Somewhere in Ravnica, Jace suppressed a shudder. He found his quiet little house and stepped inside. From the street nobody could clearly see the sudden blast of blue light, but the house suddenly seemed completely empty inside again. Meanwhile Jace was, quite literally, worlds away.

* * *

END

_**Ravnica is my favorite plan, it was the first time we seen it in MtG when I had started playing again. I can't wait to see which direction things will go from here. I let the characters tell me their story and I just write it all down. I hope to see you guys again soon! Stay tuned! **__**Same Goblin Time...Same Go**__**bl**__**in Channel!**_


	4. Chapter 4 : Izzet Alive!

Chapter Four: "Izzet Alive!"  
By Dr. Faust

Sam and Sarah's first day in the Izzet Guild was very…strange. The interior of the Guild Hall actually had living spaces for the members of the guild, they were adjacent to the lab spaces so they could almost work where they sleep. The goblin that was giving the tour told explained that was so they could improve their own efficiency.

They were each assigned a lab space and told that they would have mentors for their first year that would help them learn how to study magic the way the Izzet Guild did...after that they would be on their own to experiment and to try to gain funding for their research from Niv-Mizzet. All throughout the Guild Hall the dragon's visage was apparent. From stained glass windows in laboratories to almost life-like statues that adorned the halls. Sam could feel them staring at him. It was almost like the dragon was judging him through those stone eyes.

They were introduced to their mentors, one was a spry female goblin and the other was some sort of living ice sculpture. "This is a weird." said the tour-goblin. "It is a living elemental that we have infused with the essence of other living elementals, this particular specimen is a combination of ice and air elementals. It is a living form of magic. They are very useful and very knowledgeable if they are allowed to become sentient..we try to control that whenever possible...we don't want them to...shall we say, grow resentful?" the weird bowed to the tour goblin and turned to Sarah. It's voice was like a breeze with ice chips. "Welcome to the Izzet Guild." it said. "I am your mentor, Specimen Designation 1344." it bowed to Sarah.

The female goblin squawked at Sam. "I'm your mentor! You can call me Ribblebit. The last human I mentored turned out to be quite the powerful mage, I'm hoping that you don't let me down either, human." she said indicating that she wore several lockets. "Each one of these is a student of mine that is now successful in the guild, the last human was Ral Zarek..." she said showing a picture of a dashing man with lightning strikes of gray in his dark hair and a stern expression. Even though it was just a picture the man's gaze indicated his intense thoughts. "I'm a tough old bird, but fair. You will only learn as much as you put into it." she gazed him up and down. "I hope you are ready for the task." he nodded. "I will do my best." she harrumped and indicated that he should follow her. "I'll show you to my lab, you'll be learning with me. I'm currently working on a project to determine the exact amount of mana something possesses-" the conversation was silenced by a door closing.

Now alone with her mentor, Sarah got a better look at it. It seemed like two realities were trying to constantly express itself, one of ice one of air. It must have been a complex and painful existence. "You are curious about my origins, are you not?" the werid asked. "I...I can't help it." the weird gave a curt nod. "It is a good thing that you express curiosity, it is the driving force behind all Izzet Guild members." it turned and walked in a very perfunctory manner towards a door at the fall end of the hall. "Please accompany me, I will demonstrate the Weird creation process. We should have several that are in different stages so you can learn to appreciate their complexity."

The room was brightly lit by various machines and gas lamps. There was a large vat in the center of the room that was churning with a viscous green material.

"This is the Hall of Creation, here we create the Weirds that serve various functions around the guild. This is a very unstable process and the room is enchanted to automatically incinerate itself if something goes wrong. It is kept in a temporal shield to keep it from destroying the rest of the guild when that eventuality comes to pass. The room will then begin repairing itself using the machines that are located here." he gestured towards a series of machines that were inert and silent.

"So...if something goes wrong, everything in here dies and the room begins to fix itself?" Sarah asked amazed at both the efficiency and the cold hearted approach. "Correct. Then a team of specialized goblins will begin the process over and start creating more Weird serum...it is the lockpin in the Weird creation process. A serum that gives all of the functions of life to whatever object it comes into contact with...until this serum is injected, weirds just remain an inert mass of mana and elements." there was a large clear glass tank in which fire and rocks were constantly rolling around, in the tank next to it, water shifted endlessly. "Here we have two synthetic elementals. The one of the right, is a magma elemental and the one of the left is a water elemental. Once the serum has reached a stable level the two elements will be feed along side the serum into a third tank."

The third tank was presently empty. "At this stage the elementals are now considered a weird. It is still without life...that process can take several days to complete and doesn't always work correctly. Steps are being constantly made to improve the process but it is not always something that we can control very easily. Life is a unpredictable force."

Sarah followed her weird master to another small room. There were several tanks and odd entities shifting inside of them. "This is the Hall of Incubation, here the weirds that are freshly created come to terms with their own existence. I started out in this tank here." he indicated a tank that had some sort of mossy creature that burned with fire at the same time. "This weird is nearly complete." he said. "You can sense the intelligence coming from them and we use that to gauge their completion. Some weirds are not very intelligent when they are completed, but they have their uses still." he indicated a door at the far end of the room. "There is one last chamber we must look at." he opened the door and in the center of the room was a large desk, aligned in a splayed pattern around it were smaller desks. A massive weird that appeared to be made out of fire and ice was speaking in a strange language and other weirds were taking notes using special implements for their elements. "This is the Hall of Education, here weirds are taught the basics of living a life among our creators. We learn our specialty first hand when we are taught by a mentor, much like you are being taught today."

"We will now go to our laboratory where we will inspect the new machine I have been developing. As you are aware mana is carried around the guild locations by massive tubes. These tubes are inefficient as we must keep the mana segmented. We are working on a process to combine mana into a single form and then just draw the mana we need from it. The process while interesting, is very complex...it is also prone to violent explosions."

Sarah just shook her head. She knew the Izzet were a bunch of mad scientists but she didn't think they were so crazed as to be constantly trying to create new life and then change the fundamental laws of physics. She wondered how Sam was doing and knew that she probably wouldn't see him until after their first day. She hoped he was doing okay and not getting into trouble. He was a smart guy, he would be able to figure things out...she wondered what the guild did to those who didn't live up to their expectations. She suppressed a shudder, probably best to not think about it.

Sam was furiously scribbling notes as the goblin was prattling off facts and figures about her project. He was trying to keep up, but she seemed to realize and just kept plowing forward with ever larger projections. One thing was very clear to him. With the Izzet there was an unspoken rule. Go big or go home. He was starting to worry about the stability of the project. If something like this were to malfunction, it would probably be a pretty big problem. While the machine she proposed would only inspect and give a value, it could possibly do far more damage than that...even with some tweaking. While he didn't want to admit it, Sam was starting to see a few changes to the design that could have it double as a weapon.

It was going to be a system very much like a client-server model that he knew well. The gauntlet would scan the object using a mana projection lens, the energy readouts would be transmitted through the mana channels back to the machine here, which would return a value to the gauntlet. But Sam thought if you tweaked the scan's parameters, it could also create mana feedback, a way of disabling or destroying something with it's own power source. He made note of it. After Ribblebit seemed to content herself with the talking Sam pointed it out to her. She hummed and fiddled with some calculations and then redid them. "Quite impressive...I hadn't thought of that. You are a mage with potential indeed." Sam even gave some suggestions about how to make the machine more portable and faster as you could take a smaller unit into the field rather than one that required the massive power sources at the Izzet Guild. At this point Ribblebit just waved him off. "Perhaps that's enough for one day. Come back tomorrow and don't get lost. We have work to do." she said fiddling with some small components. Sam took that as his dismissal for the day.

He found Sarah waiting for him outside of his Guild Hall room. "How was your day?" he asked her. She just shook her head. "This stuff is...weird..." she then jabbed him with her elbow. "Get it...weird!?" he just shook his head at her. "No, Sarah, you're the weird one...come on...I have some books Ribblebit wants me to go over, maybe you can help me figure out how to read Goblin notes...they write very strangely." Sarah nodded indicating her own small pile of books. "1344 wants me to go over these introductory guides to Izzet thinking...It seems fairly straightforward though, does it explode? No why not? Can it explode? Then do it." Sam laughed. "You aren't far from the truth...I would have thought more of the Izzet machines would be commonplace around the city but they seem to keep them to themselves. I sort of wonder what they're up to." he frowned. "Or rather, what could their Guildmaster be plotting?" Sarah just shrugged. "i don't know, I do know that this has actually been pretty fun...and I'm glad we found a guild that we can be in together. Also, do you know who this guy is?" she indicated one of the authors on the book she had. It read "A pratical guide to electrical manipulation, by Ral Zarek." Sam nodded. "He's a powerful electromancer and member of this guild...or at least he was...I think? I don't know, I haven't seen him...I have heard rumors that there is a secret group within the guild...an inner sanctum...that works on projects directly for Niv-Mizzet..I wonder if he's among them...a planeswalker would probably fit right in there."

Sarah stared at the book. "He's a planeswalker, huh...I wonder if the rest of the guild knows." Sam's turn to shrug. "Probably not. He would probably want to keep that knowledge to himself, otherwise they'd send him on expeditions to every material rich plane they can get their hands on."

_Oh little human, how close you are..._thought Niv-Mizzet high in his tower, brooding and flitting among the minds of his inferiors. _I have plans that involve planeswalking...and material rich planes...and you'll doubtlessly help me bring them to fruition...I may not be able to planeswalk...but I will find a way to other worlds...I will gain the power I need...and then, I will rule Ravnica with an iron claw...no other will be able to hold me equal, not even that infernal Beleren..._a cold smile formed on the dragon's lips. "Soon..." he cooed to himself. "Soon..."


	5. Chapter 5 : Laboratory Assistant

Into The Void With Sam &amp; Sarah

Chapter Five : "Laboratory Assistant"

As is true of most things there is a rhythm to life anywhere, once you follow that rhythm you can predict how most of your life was going to be. Ravnica denied rhythm. It challenged you to accept that things are never the same and the whole of existence is just in a constant state of flux, or at least that is how it felt to Sam, now finding himself constantly running pointless errands for Ribblebit who seemed to change her mind from day to day what she wanted from him.

Sarah found that 1344 was a thorough but uncreative individual, the more she studied with him the less she felt she was learning, but she needed to pull together and try to find a way home for her and Sam, and hopefully before either of them lose their minds in the process. Ravnica was not a stress free place to live. Just this morning half of a city block was burned down in a combination of a raid by the Rakdos and a counter-raid by the Boros. The constant threat of attack from someone could really get to a person, but the residents seemed to be okay with it.

Sarah was a on break from 1344's boring lectures, which she liked to spend by wandering around the massive libraries and laboratory structures which have existed for a very long time, and have a lot of secret places where past scientists have tried to hide their handiwork or to work on things in a peaceful environment. None of them are alive anymore, several as she found out were declared traitors by Niv-Mizzet and he probably ate them. The records are kinda sketchy as not many people want to be around when Niv does anything. Those that are in the know with Niv get the best laboratories and the smartest staff to work with, so everyone was constantly trying to one-up themselves. This was a risky business when one-uping yourself could result in combusting yourself.

She ducked around a corner as a strange device that was part skeleton part whirring gears came tottering past, probably still on whatever task it was programmed to do, regardless of whether or not it needs to be done anymore. She ran into a couple guards that were designed the same way, most of them were easily disabled or simply fell apart after activating. It was behind one such automaton that she found a small door, probably for a smaller creature than a human, but she could still wiggle her way inside. The room was much larger and she could stand up right.

There were stack and stacks of journals and notes and several small cages with dust and bones as their only contents. The whole place looked like it had been abandoned in a hurry by whoever was there last. She picked up one of the books and wiped the dust off, it was written in old Draconian which she had been learning thanks to 1344's insistence that she learn the ancient language of the Izzet people. The first page began with references to "another place" and how this person had found a way to get back there after sneaking into Izzet to steal some supplies. It was signed "Vesner" and the rest of the documents were attributed to someone else, clearly someone was completing this Vesner's research. There were notes on a type of armor that allowed protection from extreme energy sources as well as allowing extreme long range teleportation. Teleportation was used every day by the Izzet so who knows why they'd want to extend the range…"beyond the corporeal" so they wanted to be able to extend the range to other worlds. They were creating a planeswalk machine! She was going to have to ask Sam about who this Vesner person was. She found herself wondering if they ever completed it. She took one last look around the room and spotted a scroll on a holder high above everything else. She climb up and grabbed it. On her way out she made sure she memorized where this room was in case in was relevant again.

She wasn't worried about anyone else finding it, they were usually too preoccupied with their own projects to go wandering around the older parts of the building and certainly not snooping about. She stuffed the scroll into her satchel and figured she had to hurry back or else 1344 would reprimand her about punctuality again.

Sam was running a few errands for Ribblebit that took him deep into the Izzet Guild's labratory complex, here the paths to and fro get a bit complicated from all of the unintentional demolitions and rebuilding that had taken place, largely from experiments that have gone completely wrong. Now some areas of the building were so magically reinforced that not even the Firemind himself would be able to blast it away entirely. He was careful to avoid a section known as the Inner Sanctum, a large round room that was supposedly home to Niv-Mizzet himself. It had lots of doors around the outside. Apparently Niv-Mizzet's past-times include brooding, scheming and disintegrating minds that wander too close to what he's working on.

It's rumored that his laboratory is massive and runs the entire space of the complex only much deeper into the Ravnican ground than anyone else is able to go, it can only be accessed from the Inner Sanctum and only Niv-Mizzet knows the complex series of spells that unlocks the hidden pathways to the lab. Sam wondered what a large, cunning lizard like Niv would be up to down there. He shuddered at the thought and kept on his current task. He was supposed to get the specifications from a mechanist and take it to a Simic Guildmage who would craft a slime that would allow them to infuse the machine they were working on with semi-intelligence, just enough that they could communicate with it verbally.

It was a strange project because it didn't seem to have an end goal besides making a machine that would respond to voice. Sam saw this all over the place in the machinist labs, it seemed that nobody ever worked on a complete project and that they were only working on very small pieces of something larger only they didn't really seem to realize it...Knowing some of the lore on Niv-Mizzet he wondered if was possible that they were being manipulating subtly. He wondered if he was one of those pawns.

He passed by a man who wore a long brown cloak and had dark spectacles on his face. He glanced at Sam as he passed, Sam had the strangest sensation almost like time had slowed to a crawl for a mere instant,and then went back to normal. When he looked back at the man, he was already moving on. He wore a headband that had the Izzet clan symbol on it, but didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular. Sam realized he was going to be late and took off at a dead run.

A group of security goblins came running up to the man, his shadow spread out from underneath him and enveloped them, they didn't make a sound. It receded back beneath him leaving no trace of them at all, he smiled a grin with sharp teeth and slunk deep into the Izzet Guild halls.

Later that afternoon, Sam was watching Ribblebit place a small tube full of semi-intelligent green slime into the center of the machine's interior and hooked various mana conduits up to it. "The goal of the machine is to translate the vocal commands to ones that the machine can understand. I chose to use this particular slime because of it's longevity, unlike other sentient creatures it doesn't need to eat or drink, it survives on mana only." She took a long thing conduit and fed it directly into the tube that held the slime. "There, we are all set now."

She hooked the machine up to a mechanical arm and cleared her throat. She told it to rotate the palm. The palm rotated and the fingers stretched out. "Ahah! It's perfect. Take notes, boy, this would make for a fantastic automaton design. We could make this the base of the machine and it would make a very good utility machine, something like a guard or even a basic servant if it were intelligent enough, but we have to be careful, it could be prone to doing only as it pleases, it would take an exceptional mind-mage to manipulate something so basic." She said as he hurried to jot down her thoughts. He was glad he had taken shorthand in high school when he was learning how to work on the student paper. It really came in handy when she decided to just derail her train of thoughts and his.

While rare, when she left him to his own devices he was working on building one. He was implanting a seeing crystal into a small winged drone that was similar to the remote controlled ones from back on his plane. He was curious about how some of the streets in Ravnica formed, but in order to get a good look at it he was going to need to get above the crowded streets. There were small flying devices but they were more for entertainment of children or to perform aerial stunts, a couple were used to deliver small letters or packages amongst a few of the richer nobles. But nobody had thought to plant a seeing crystal on it, allowing the user to see what the drone can. It would be easy to build and to enchant, as Ribblebit had taught him a very easy spell for manipulating the small crafts. He took what she gave him and drew it all out like a card he called the spell "Miniscule Flight" and doing it that way actually worked, he was going to share that discovery with Sarah as it gave them a lot more of an edge when it came to fighting or figuring out a way home.

A weird stopped by and passed a scroll to Ribblebit and conjured another that it handed to Sam. It was an internal memo that inquired if anyone knew what happened to a group of security goblins that were responding to an intruder event in the courtyard surrounding the Inner Sanctum, anyone knowing anything was to report to the goblin task force. Sam remembered seeing that man in the brown cloak but didn't think anything of it. He made a note to relay that to the task force but ultimately it was probably just a customer seeking information on a product they offer.

That night he showed Sarah his crude but effective custom spell. She was delighted and told him about the hidden room and the scroll that she found. They unrolled it and it just had a series of patterns etched into it. Sam ran his hand across them and instantly got woozy. "Wow, that was almost like it took mana out of me, quite a bit." He said shaking his head. The pattern began to glow and soon the whole scroll was dancing with lights.

The paper burned away and the embers swirled together to a single point and then expanded into a vaguely humanoid shape, the embers fell away to reveal a small metal machine with vaguely human characteristics. "ACQUIRING MANA RESOURCES...IDENTIFYING LOCATION...DONE...POWER UP PROCEDURES COMPLETE….ALL SYSTEMS ONLINE…" The crystals that stood for eyes began to illuminate. Gears whirred away and steam hissed from vents. It scrutinized Sam and Sarah. "NEITHER OF YOU ARE IN MY SYSTEM." Sam looked at Sarah. "I'm Sam, and this is Sarah." He explained. The little machine's dimmed then brightened. "DATABASE UPDATED, AWAITING ORDERS." Sam pulled Sarah into the kitchen alcove. "What the hell are we gonna do with that thing?" He asked. She shrugged. "I wasn't expecting the scroll to summon anything. I honestly have no idea." she said. The machine just sat there whirring and waiting patiently. "We could say that we built it to assist us…" she said. Sam frowned. "If they want to see blueprints or some form of proof we're dead. We'll have to draw them up and make it look legit." Sarah nodded and started digging around for paper and writing supplies. "Looks like we have ourselves a new laboratory assistant." She said.

Deep in an Izzet Library the spectacled man addressed a goblin. "I know this form is less than appealing my servant, but we're getting close. I sense that one of the ancient machines has been discovered. I must now wait to see if they can fully awaken it. It's been said only a planeswalker can control the machines. If they can then we'll know what our next step is. Now go, the Firemind is stiring and we'll be more easily detected together." The goblin bowed and it shuffled off, its stare blank. Shadows pulled into the man's body and shielded his mind. To the great and powerfully psychic Firemind he resembled a weird with their broken mechanical thoughts.

Soon the next stage in his grand revolution will begin, and it all starts with a spark. A Planeswalker's spark.


	6. Chapter 6 : Ghosts

Into The Void Of Sam And Sarah

Chapter 6 : "Ghosts"

The large machines churned deep in the Izzet laboratories. A goblin scurried towards them with a satchel in hand. There were several large mana crystals of conflicting energy kept separate from each other by an enchantment. With a muttering wave of his hand the goblin broke the binding and placed each crystal at a specific location on the machine's underbelly. Now when the machine went to draw mana power it would draw in all of those conflicting energies as well. It would be a spectacular and deadly explosion to anyone nearby. This was a very special machine too, it powered the 'weird network' which kept weirds from crumbling apart when they left Izzet's laboratories.

Their own conflicting energies would create smaller but still fairly potent explosions all throughout the complex eventually the goblin whose identity he stole would be sentenced for the crime and probably executed. But this was only the beginning. It wasn't too uncommon for the Izzet to build laboratories on top of each other, eventually the older labs get sunk, or partially destroyed. The goal is to find out where the rest of the ancient machines were. According to his master's research there were two machines for each Guild, gifts from the leaders of the Izzet in the past. They were also used for spying on other Guilds. It was known that the Izzet seldom ever gave away anything for free and undoubtedly their machines would be given equal scrutiny.

He left the process of seeking the rest of the machines to his master, he was only told to seek out and facilitate the return of the Izzet machine. He would be able to do that so long as they were actually kept in the sub-laboratory like his mind slave had told him. Otherwise this was going to be destruction without a cause. Not that he was terrible opposed to such a thing, he just generally didn't like to make a mess if he could avoid it. Speaking of messes, the real trick of setting up a bomb like this would be to make sure that he can get away before it activates, otherwise things could get really nasty for him.

He left the room and found a nice dark concealed corner where nobody was going to be walking by and muttered a few archaic words. His form shimmered and shifted and when he stood up from a crouching position was several feet taller than he had been. He now resembled an Azorious Senator who was known to frequent these parts. He had to work quickly to get out though, the bomb could still go off at any minute. There was also the risk that the mind magic he cast on himself could fade and he would be found out by any number of psychics that the Izzet's were known to have employed.

He found himself in a long metallic corridor, but he didn't recall stepping into it. He was moving down into a deeper part of the Izzet labs that he had no sense of heading towards. It was almost as if something was pulling, pulling him along. Towards a fate that he could only begin to understand. As the large metal doors parted for him on their own accord he instantly realized what had happened. The mind magic had faded far quicker than he had imagined. A strong dragonic claw wrapped around him and steam filled the air, hinted with the smell of carrion and death. "Well, well, a little spy has come along…" said a deep rumbling voice that seeemed to reverberate in his mind, he was raised up to see a large slit-pupil eye. "I have to say the mana crystals were a clever touch, but you can't be more clever than I, Niv-Mizzet...shall I show you why they call me, 'the Firemind'?" he locked his large eye on the spy's smaller ones. The man began to scream as a firestorm erupted in his mind tearing through his memories and thoughts, his psychic barriers falling apart like wet parchment.

"_**Now let's see, who sent you?" **_unbidden images of his master and others that he had known began to drift to his mind's surface. The man himself was quickly becoming a babbling fool, drool spilling down his chin. Soon, his brain cells themselves would melt from the intense gaze of the firemind, and his remains would be tossed into the trash, unfit for even a dragon's diet.

The images were beamed from Niv-Mizzet's mind to the rest of his inner sanctum. With only two words slithered in between them and the images of steam and anger to make them move. _**"Find him."**_

The sibilings were sitting at their kitchen table, their little shiny metal friend was sitting in the corner in a quiet state. They wondered why he kept going quiet like that, what thoughts or concepts were turning around in his little mechanical head. But they got nothing out of him, except yes or no answers or very vague and mechanical descriptions of things. It would seem he was built to serve some sort of utility but it was unclear what that was. Sarah pointed out that he had long notches along his sides so maybe he was used to connect into other pieces of machinery somewhere, probably now lost forever. She made a point to ask around and see if they'd be able to find out about any such projects.

Unfortunately, given the high turnover rate of the scientific minds that were attracted to the guild, it would seem that once someone left the guild by force or decision their projects were either scrapped or used to form the basis of someone else's work, it would be nigh impossible to track down a single idea that hadn't already been stolen or worked on. Given what they've learned about magic since they've come to this world they also know that at least on Ravnica it would take an exceptionally skilled mage to infuse a scroll so thoroughly with magic that it would last for as long as that one seems to have.

Sam compared the writing on the scroll to other ancient texts in the Izzet's library but they turned up nothing. They had to be getting close to something all of this work that they've been dabbling in was starting to amount to nowhere and certainly not them finding a way home. They've discussed the possibility of Planeswalking again to try to see where they could go, but they didn't want to do so without someone more experienced like Ajani but they had no way to reach him. The only Planeswalker they knew about, to their knowledge, didn't know that they existed. While Ravnica was a popular stop for many Planeswalkers in the lore of their world they also worked hard to keep a low profile, one of those situations where you didn't want a lesser evolved species to come to understand just how big the universe was. It could have far reaching and incredibly unprecedented consequences. For example, when they finally got home they certainly wouldn't be telling anyone about their own adventures here, they'd probably get locked away in a loony bin somewhere or told to stop playing so many video games. Assuming of course nobody thought they were dead...it's been months since they've been home and they don't even know what to think.

At least they had each other, and their little assistant, which Sam has been called Shinybot, but Sarah told him that was dumb and she would think of a better name for it. But Shinybot was okay with that designation as it had none set to its parameters, or so it said. She suspected even it was embarrassed by having such a moniker.

The spectacled man sat in his study and looked at the transparent floating soul of a man he had once known. It was tormented spirit and had taken all of his skills to capture without raising suspicions or alarms. "So what did you tell the Firemind." he asked. The spirit of the man who had been working for him for several years look around at the word 'firemind' but his stare was blank. The powers of the Firemind were certainly intense, if they could affect someone who was already dead.

"I...had no control...I was taken...walked right into their….his...lair….his mind tore mine apart….I don't know what he knows...just that...he knows…." the man said, each word hard to form as he was trying to pull himself together from the shards that the Firemind had left behind. The spectactled man frowned. This was no good, if he wasn't able to get away fast enough the Firemind would certainly level half of Ravnica looking for him, and when he did find him it would not be pleasant. For now his wards were holding strong and the Firemind seemed to not realize where he was located, he would just have to move more cautiously.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, I hate to see this happen to anyone which is why I must succeed in my mission. I will avenge you, but I won't let your soul go to waste. I shall use the power you give me to fuel my campaign even further. Thank you for your assistance, your family will be well compensated for your loss." his shadow pooled under him and then coiled, much like a large snake readying to strike. The spirit of the man floated listlessly, in one smooth motion the shadow lunged and the man was gone forever.

The spectacled man's eyes gleamed with an inner light as the soul fed his power and he felt a surge of triumph. For while the Firemind may know his face, he knows nothing else and certainly can't know everything about the plans he has already set in motion. He took out a quill and quickly wrote a letter, and sealed it. Jace Beleren would be curious who sent the letter and would use his tricks to try to find out. But the paper was special and would yield him nothing. It would also serve as nice little catalyst to get things moving.

Nothing has changed. The second machine will soon be found and if not by his hand then it will be by someone else's. He would also find out where the first machine went. That part will be easy. For in a world as creative as Ravnica, nobody uses the same design twice very often.


	7. Chapter 7 : Realization

**Note: I realize that it has taken four months to publish an update. I'm still working on this story, don't worry! We'll get there!**

Chapter 7 : "Realization"

By Dr. Faust

Shinybot was acting strangely, it kept circling and stopping, circling and stopping, always at different points of the cardinal compass, as if it were searching for something that it couldn't find. It was making odd clicking noises. Sarah was concerned but Sam was still out, she would have to wait until he returned in order to tell about the strange little robot's behavior. It was almost obsessing about something, if a robot could be obsessive.

It continued its steady clicking and repositioning.

Deep in Ravnica's network of city streets and dark alleyways a man stood next to a large gear that had blue and green manastones set into it. It had cost a fortune to have the Simic build it but they were efficient workers. They told him it would draw the robot of the ancient texts that he had showed them to him. They warned that since they didn't design the robot they couldn't be sure if it would be accurate or if the robot would even still function after the centuries that it had sat dormant. He had some of his spies set up to monitor in case the robot decided to take a different course.

This was the final piece of his puzzle. Soon he would be able to use the robot to its full potential and would gain the necessary powers that he had been lacking. Soon he would be able to bring the city to its knees and he would be unstoppable even by that fool Beleren.

Sam opened the door to the little house they shared. The robot was still clicking in its usual pattern and Sarah was reading a book that described how to manipulate time in a very small manner to achieve a variety of goals. It was a very complicated book and didn't make a whole lot of sense but it kept her from wondering more about their little robot friend.

"What's up with Shinybot?" Sam asked, concerned about their little robot friend. "I don't know what its doing, it just keeps clicking and repositioning. I haven't a single idea how to fix it." Sarah said her own concern evident in her voice.

"I've never seen it do anything like this. Let me see if those old blueprints yield any information." Sam said digging out the blueprints from the magically locked cupboard they hid them in. "I hope so, I don't want to keep watching him do this, it's strange...watching a little robot obsess about something that it probably doesn't even understand. I tried asking it what it was looking for but it just keeps clicking and doesn't answer me." Sarah said doubtfully.

Sam flipped through the old parchments. He stumbled on a page that showed a strange gear-like structure that was mounted into a wall and had several mana crystals arranged on it. "This might have something to do with it, but I can't even begin to fathom what that would be. It's very strange and what I can understand of this ancient text makes it even more cryptic. There is someone on this plane that we can talk to but it would require us to break our silence about being here. I doubt he wouldn't be happy that we didn't tell him right away that we were here but he would probably be willing to help us." he said studying the page and frowning as he couldn't make anything out of it.

Sarah looked at her brother and realize that he was talking about going to Beleren. "I figured Ajani would have told him that we were here. I thought they were close or at least aware of each other as planeswalkers." She said looking at the page over her brother's shoulder.

Sam shook his head and considered the small robot methodically clicking in circles. "I don't know if they're friendly or not, I've never really studied their interactions much, other than they first all appeared in the storylines in the Lorwyn block of the card game. This is something more by existing so very...visceral."

He stood up and put all of the documents away and sealed the lock with a wave of his hand. They were both getting better at magic without the use of cards but they were still very weak and limited to very small types of magic.

The next day they planned on seeking out how to get a hold of Beleren. Sam dug through some local directories of information and found that he could be usually located at his laboratories that were situated in an area very near the heart of Ravnica. At least he could be reached professionally that way. Sarah pointed out that they would need to be able to speak to him directly and not through his professional assistants. But they knew that they wouldn't be able to draw Beleren out with just a professional inquiry. They knew that they would have to find some mystery that would pique his interest.

They knocked on the large ornate doors of the laboratory that the directory indicated was the home to Jace Beleren. A few moments later a tired and stern looking Vedalken opened the door. He fold his arms across his chest and stared at the youngsters. "Children, please note that this building is reserved for professional inquiries only. We do not welcome children in these facilities."

"Thank you for your time though, we just need to talk to Master Beleren about a very private matter, a matter that concerns the future of the guilds...we know that there is an attack planned by the Izzet guild on the Rakdos." Sarah said with her most cheery tone of voice.

The vedalken raised an eyebrow. "All guild matters need to be sent in writing to Master Beleren, I'm afraid that he is a very busy man and is not prone to flights of fancy. You will need to have very solid and very real proof of these events or he will not be likely to speak with you." he said his tone unchanging or unconcerned with their statement.

"But we do have this proof, but we fear for our lives and we won't have time for him to discuss them on a professional level. We need to speak with him immediately. There has to be a way to talk to him about this, it's an emergency!" Sam pleaded, hoping that while very taciturn that the Vedalken was also capable of sympathy.

"So be it. I will attempt to contact Master Beleren, you will need to wait outside and if he does not wish to speak with you there is nothing I can do. You will have to use the appropriate channels to speak with him. What is the nature of this 'emergency'?" The vedalken inquired as he looked from Sam to Sarah and back.

"We have found a small robot that is designed to destroy, we want Jace to study it. I have it right here!" Sam stepped aside and small white cloth tottered up behind him. Underneath it was Shinybot still clicking. It had been a real challenge to get it to follow them but they had promised that they'd take it where it needed to go.

The Vedalken considered this for a moment and then closed the door. They heard low talking as if one was talking to himself. The door opened again. The Vedalken waved it's hand. The near invisible barrier lowered. "Come inside, the Master will speak with you and consider your...Robot. He is not here but agreed to end his travels early to speak with you."

They followed the Vedalken inside and expected to see a very busy lab full of experiments and lots of books stacked haphazardly all over the place. What they had not expected to see was what they actually saw. There was a massive multi-level room inside the laboratory. The size inside seemed to belie the building's exterior, it was much bigger on the inside than on the outside.

Sam let out a low whistle. "How is it….so big in here?"

The Vedalken lead them through the maze of equipment and bookshelves. "Master Beleren has studied magic far beyond the normal for one of his age, his abilities aren't even fully known to himself. He has….far more talent than many others might even realize. I am his trusted assistant and have been given access to a few of his experiments for the purpose of furthering them. This room is an example of one such goal."

Sarah was equally impressed. The robot even clicked appreciably. They followed the Vedalken to the center of the room where a few scraggly pieces of spare furniture had been arranged to some what resemble a sitting space. It wasn't very comfortable but for a person who was constantly on the move it was probably more of a passing attempt at courtesy rather than for personal use. "This is...pleasant...not very homey but I guess if you're always on the run you probably don't spend a lot of time sitting around." Sarah remarked.

Sam nodded and then sank into a low chair. "I hope Beleren isn't much longer, I don't like the way Shinybot has been acting. I don't want him to take off on us."

There was a crackle of bright blue energy and they felt their ears pop as if a sudden pressure had been displaced. A blue cloaked figure with piercing blue eyes that seemed to glow with an inner light appeared standing in the midst of the seating arrangements. He surveyed the duo and sighed.

Jace coldly considered the children and then turned to his Vedalken assistant. "I thought I had said, children weren't allowed."

The Vedalken nodded and bowed. "As I conveyed to you they have brought something with them that they wish for you to review, saying that it is potentially very dangerous.."

The powerful blue mage stared at the children. The blue light that filled his eyes flashed. "No...that's not quite right, is it?"

Sarah started to speak and lost her nerve but continued. "S-Sir, we aren't what we appear to be. We're not just children. We're also Planeswalkers like you...but we haven't been able to Planeswalk since Ajani brought us here."

Jace looked thoughtful for a moment."And you expect me to be able to somehow cure you? Or maybe teach you? Planeswalking is an innate ability that works differently for everyone I could show you how I do it and it won't be of any use to yourself. This is just the way things are."

He turned and stopped. He turned back. "But what is that robot nonsense? I feel something strange coming from it." He flipped his wrist and the sheet that they had thrown over the robot went sliding across the floor and he stalked over and stared at the robot intently.

He knelt down to get a better look at the robot. "How curious. I sense that this device has a sliver of the mad energy of the Blind Eternities within it...not much, and certainly no Planeswalker spark but it definitely has some connection to another plane...a different place. With your permission I'd like to study this further."

Sam and Sarah looked at each other. While they were both attached to the little robot they knew that this would be important to figuring out Shinybot's purpose and that Jace would probably be very careful and considerate about his investigation of the robot. They nodded. Jace indicated to the robot and the Vedalken guided it away into the laboratory. He looked back at the two children. He thought for a moment and snapped his fingers. Two scrolls appeared in his hands. He handed one each to Sam and Sarah.

He cleared his throat. "These scrolls contain a wealth of knowledge for new Planeswalkers. I wrote them to help people learn more about the new world they have found themselves in. I want you to give them a shot and see if there is anything in there that you can use. I'm honestly not surprised that you have fluctuations in your powers. Not all Planeswalkers start out very strong, in fact it's usually more accidental that we discover our powers. I want to keep in touch with you though." He snapped his fingers and two small pins appeared on their clothes.

He continued. "These will allow us to communicate with each other. However I am usually off-plane exploring old ideas and concepts and I might not be quick in getting to you in case of an emergency so be sure to trust your instincts. I am also currently deep in an investigation that concerns…" He stopped and thought about something for a moment. "I see...I sense that you are amongst the guilds. Which guild do you belong to and keep in mind that you cannot lie to me."

Sam and Sarah both swallowed wondering how Jace would feel if they revealed that they belonged to the Izzet Guild as he was traditionally not very fond of some of their shadier practices. "We both belong to the Izzet Guild." Sam said with some hesitation.

Jace nodded for a moment. He held up his hand. "I'm going to confirm something, please don't assume that I'm wiping your memories or something. I just need to know something before I confide in you any further."

A soft whispering wind seemed to flicker through their minds and Jace lowered his hand. "I see that you are honest and kind...something that most of the Izzet guild isn't. I'm going to trust you with my mission so that you can help me. I suspect that NIv-Mizzet is planning something ugly. I want you to convey to me anything you hear, anything at all. You never know what could be relevant with him. I also want you to practice Planeswalking but always return here to Ravnica. I am going to need your help and you need to grow stronger before I can have you help me, I don't want to see you die either." Jace said with certainty.

Sam nodded and Sarah remained quiet. Working with Jace will help them unravel the mysteries of Ravnica that they have started to see it would also help them learn more about Shinybot and even more about themselves and the new lives they have as Planeswalkers.


End file.
